Chapter 3

Start Of Shift

Darren Parker slept fitfully, tossing and turning, his head full of haunted houses and ghostly voices. It had been late when he had gotten to bed, as they had all gone back to Rory's house to wind up the online ghost hunt and look in detail at the contents of the mysterious casket. It seemed that EgonSpengler285 was correct and the papers were part of the perplexing Voynich manuscript, a fifteenth century illustrated codex, hand-written in an unknown script.

'Dar-ren.'

He was standing in front of a half timbered, Tudor building. A woman, dressed in a semi transparent night gown was calling to him from an upstairs window. The backlit gown left nothing to his virile imagination.

As is often the case in dreams, without knowing how, he knew he was in Elizabethan London. He looked up at the attractive auburn haired young woman.

'It's you, the voice in the crystal ball, Who are you?'

'Yes, t'is I. Mine own nameth is Lilith, and thee Darren, art mine own savior.'

'Saviour? Me? I don't understand . . . And why couldn't my friends hear you when you called my name?'

Lilith gave a beautiful, bubbly laugh.

'Thy cater-cousins doth not possesseth thy foresight. Their thoughts art in discord, whereas ours art in harmony.'

In his sleep, Darren felt a pleasant stirring in his loins.

'Are you saying we're a match on Tinder?,'

'Thy words art foreign to me, as art the words which did trap me within this dungeon, foreign to thee.'

'It looks more like a Tudor house to me.'

'The dungeon is the crystal ball I hath led thee to. T'wast to be the prison of an evil warlock who, down through the ages, hast caused much death and destruction. However, before I couldst springeth the trap, that warlock hath used his own incantation to trap me in this lodging.'

'When was this?'

'Five centuries previous. Mine own failure hast meant yond Hel, who hast been also known as Qin Shi Huang, Genghis Khan, Timur, and Vlad Dracula, wast able to continueth his reign of terror. At which hour I wast tasked by the sisterhood to incarcerate the warlock, Hel wast calling himself Ivan the Terrible.'

'Wow! So you're saying that all the evil rulers in history are the same person?'

'I kneweth thee were the one at which hour I first hath felt thy thoughts. If 't be true, I couldst escapeth this prison, I couldst endeth his evil reign forever. Shall thee help me, Darren?'

'Of course, Lilith. What do you want me to do?'

He was only too keen to release this beauty from her prison and be the recipient of her appreciation.

'Oh Darren, thee knoweth not what this means to me. I shall beest forever in thy debt. In the casket, were there some papers with strange writing and drawings?'

'Yes, there were. No one has been able to read them though.'

'Yond is because those words art writ in an ancient tongue which wast unknown to Hel. Hadst Hel been able to readeth the text, that gent wouldst has't realised yond there is an incantation to open the portal and releaseth the person within.'

'But if no one can read the incantation, how the hell do you expect me to read it?'

Lilith smiled at him.

'Patience mine own love. I feeleth thy frustration. Remember, I hath said our thoughts art in harmony. At which hour thee behold at the writing again, thee shall understand the words.'

Darren awoke with the dream replaying in his head. It had felt SO real. He sat up and ran his fingers through his hair. His eyes were drawn to the wooden casket on the dressing table. The group had agreed that he should hold on to it for now as he had heard the voice in the house. He climbed out of bed, and went over to the casket, slowly opening it and looking inside. The crystal sphere still had the faint, purple glow which only he could see, and . . . was that Lilith's face? She seemed to be mouthing "help me Darren". "It was a dream, wasn't it?" he thought to himself.

'Darren . . . The incantation . . . Thou art the only one who canst free me,' he heard Lilith tell him. It wasn't a dream. This beautiful woman needed his help.

'Don't worry Lilith, I won't let you down. We'll soon be together.'

He went back over to the bed and sat down, taking out the papers and leafing through them. To his amazement, between the drawings of stars, constellations, naked women and weird plants, there were words he could now read. 'I'll be damned. She was right.'

'Readeth the incantation mine own love,' Lilith encouraged.

He started to read the words on the paper. 'Betwixt Dravidian shores and linear five nine three oh one six seven point oh two, and strikes the fulsome grove of Rexel Four. Co-radiating crystal, activate!' he began.

Any tourist to London would have loved Rose and Gwen's commute into work. Hyde Park, the grounds of Buckingham Palace, the Houses of Parliament and the Clock Tower which housed Big Ben. They then followed the route of the Thames, past the Tower of London. Alice's route had taken her through Whitechapel and she joined The Highway slightly ahead of Rose and Gwen.

['It looks like I'm a couple of minutes ahead of you,'] Alice observed on the map.

'Oh yeah,' Rose replied. 'Hang on, is that your car just going into Limehouse Link Tunnel?' They saw the background behind Alice go dark.

['Yes, I've just gone in.']

'Hah! I can see you. You're just a few hundred yards ahead of us,' Rose announced.

The cars drove onto the Isle of Dogs and the area known as Canary Wharf. Instead of going into the underground car park, the cars drove along North Colonnade, and pulled up outside Torchwood Tower. Alice climbed out of the AutoCab, and it immediately drove off to pick up its next customer. She looked down the street and saw another pod-like car in the distance with two occupants. The car pulled up to the kerb and the doors slid apart. Rose stepped out with a big grin on her face, followed by the not-so-impressed Gwen.

'That was fun,' Rose said, as they watched the AutoCab close its doors and drive off.

When the three friends walked into the reception area, one of the receptionists at the desk, Sarah Green, looked up to greet what she thought were visitors 'Good morn . . . Wha?'

Rose laughed at the puzzled expression on their friend's face. 'Mornin' Sarah. We've started usin' the new driverless taxi service,' she explained.

'Oh, right. That's why I've been seeing more and more staff coming through here recently. I'd heard they'd started extending their coverage.'

'Yeah, they're brilliant,' Rose replied as they walked towards the lifts. 'Talk to y'later.'

At the bank of lifts, they greeted other members of staff they knew who were waiting for a lift, and they all entered the first one which arrived. Rose and Gwen stepped out on the third floor, whilst Alice carried on to the fourth. Gwen turned right towards a central corridor which led to the locker rooms where she would change into her uniform, whereas. Rose turned left towards the double doors of the Special Operations Standby Room.

There were exchanges of greetings from both Green Watch, who were just finishing the night watch, and Blue Watch, who were just arriving for their start of the morning watch. Rose made her way to the Supervisor's Office to get the hand over of duty.

'Mornin' Zara. How was it?' Rose greeted as she entered the glass fronted office.

'Morning Rose,' Zara replied with a big smile. 'It was OK actually, and a lot better now it's over,' she replied with a grin. Zara Mohammed was a young, mixed race woman, with short cropped, afro hair and an irrepressible cheerful disposition, even after the graveyard shift.

Rose smiled at her quip. 'What y'got for me then?'

She handed her the tablet PC. 'Not much really. All the teams are either back or are coming back, and there's a report of a meteorite going through the roof of a bungalow near Kettering.'

Rose read the details. 'Hmm. Not the usual irregular shaped meteorite . . . shaped like a mango seed. That's worth a look.'

Zara nodded in agreement. 'That's what I thought. Oh, and someone you know was admitted to the hospital floor in the early hours.'

After the handover from Green Watch, Rose went to the kitchen area to pour a mug of tea and wandered over to one of the tall windows which looked out across South Colonnade towards Jubilee Park and Middle Dock. She watched the early morning commuters leaving the domed entrance of the underground station on the edge of the park. It was Thursday, and she was on her fourth day of eight to fours. Blue Watch would have Friday and Saturday off before starting their four to midnight shift on Sunday.

The four watches of the Torchwood Special Operations Unit, worked on a rolling shift system. The shifts were eight in the morning until four in the afternoon, followed by four to midnight, and then the "graveyard shift" of midnight to eight in the morning. Each watch would do four days on and two days off, except for the nights, where they would get four days off for their sleep patterns to return to normal. Behind her, she could hear the Watch making their way from the kitchenette with their teas and coffees, ribbing each other with good natured jibes and friendly banter.

'Mornin' partner,' Craig "Ace" Rimmer said to his field partner, Gwen "Numbers" O'Toole. 'How was Ben's birthday?'

'Yeah. It was fine,' she replied with a lack of enthusiasm or elaboration. She sat on the sofa and cradled her mug of tea in both hands.

'Oh. Okay,' Craig said, taking the hint that the subject was off limits.

Rose wondered if Gwen was disappointed that she had missed the usual "girl's night in" they had on a Wednesday night at Gwen's apartment. The group had told her though, that she should go and celebrate Ben's birthday and they would relocate to Amy "Legs" Williams' place, where they could coo over her new baby, Melody. Some of the Watch though, had noticed that Gwen hadn't been herself for a few days now, especially Craig. Rose made a mental note to keep an eye on her. Emotional turmoil could affect an agent's performance.

'Okay guys, settle down and get ready for another day of wonderful weirdness,' Rose called out. She looked at her tablet at the first item. 'Item one. The observant ones among you may have noticed that we have been joined by Christina Kelly, from White Watch, who will be teamin' up with her usual partner, Dave Campbell, who as y'know is coverin' for Angel while she's on maternity leave.'

'Hi Chris,' Clive "Bart" Simpson called out. 'Fancy a stint as a TV star then?'

Christina laughed. 'Well, I can't have you stealing all the limelight, can I?'

Clive had known Christina from when he used to be a police officer. She had been a firearms officer at the same station, and when Craig told her he was joining Torchwood, she was fascinated to hear about the Special Operations Unit. Then, in 2007, when most of Green Watch were wiped out by the Cybermen at Battersea, Andy McNab needed some good people to train up quickly. Obviously, he asked members of the watches for recommendations, and Christina made the grade.

'So, if André isn't here, does that mean what I think it means?' Julia "Van" De Graff asked.

Rose had a big smile on her face. 'The Coulthard's are on the floor below us, in a private room. Angel's waters broke in the early hours, and I believe she is havin' contractions as we speak. Due to the unusual nature of mother and baby, it was thought best that they should come to the place which is best suited to deal with any unexpected turn of events.'

'She is going to be alright, isn't she?' Gwen asked.

Rose gave her a reassuring smile. 'As we know, Angel has some unusual anatomy, and the baby may also have unusual features. Obviously, the medical files are private, but Marla tells me that there's nothin' on the scans that causes concern. So we'll have to wait and see.'

'We should send some flowers,' a Geordie accent said from the middle of the group.

Everyone turned to look at Jake "the Peg" Simmonds. It was known he was a bit of a "bloke", and didn't usually know about these things.

'Who are you, and what have you done with my field partner?' Julia asked.

'What?' Jake asked indignantly. 'Isn't that what we normally do . . ? We sent Amy some flowers last month.'

Rose snorted a laugh. 'Quite right Jake. It looks like Sarah's been a good influence on ya. I'll get some delivered after the briefin' . . . Talkin' of which . . .' Rose referred to her tablet PC. 'Item one. Clive an' Danny. This looks like it might be an all day shout. Have a drive up to Thorpe Malsor, a little place west of Kettering and check out a report of someone havin' a meteorite crash through their roof.'

Danny frowned. 'What's a meteorite hitting a house got to do with us?'

'Because this meteorite looks like a seed pod about the size of a mango seed. I want you to check if the pod is absorbin' heat from the surroundings, and if there are reports of missin' children, pets or anythin' out of the ordinary,' Rose told them, remembering a seed pod from the old universe which had fallen to earth.

'Standard covert alien incursion protocol then?' Clive asked.

'Exactly. I'll send the contact details and address to your tablets. Item two; Detective Inspector Jason Fieldin', the police liaison officer, has asked if Torchwood could help with some of the Met's unsolved cold cases. Dave and Christina, when he arrives, would you accompany him to Research an' see if there's anythin' our unit might be able to look into?'

'Will do,' Dave replied.

'This one's just in,' Rose read from her tablet. 'High Post Business Park, on the A354, halfway between Salisbury and Amesbury in Wiltshire, reported to police that one of their guard dogs had been killed and stripped to the bone.'

'Urgh!' Julia exclaimed, pulling a face of disgust.

'Yeah,' Rose agreed. 'The police have got nothing to go on, so have referred it to us. "Other Craig" and Tom, take one of the zoologists from Animal Management and see what you can find out.' Tom "Flash" Gordon, from Green Watch, was covering maternity leave for Craig Owens' field partner, Amy "Legs" Williams, who had recently given birth.

'Okay. That's all the jobs for now. Dispatch Officer for today will be . . .' Rose was originally going to put "Welsh" Pete on Dispatch, and his field partner "Irish" Stu on competency training, but there was something about Gwen today which made her feel as though she should be on competency training in the building so that she could keep an eye on her. Also the training should show any lapses in concentration. '. . . Craig, and Gwen, you'll be on competency training.'

"Ace" made his way over to the Dispatch Office, whilst "Numbers" headed for the doors to make her way up to the Training and Technical Support Departments on the sixteenth floor. Clive, Danny, "Other Craig" and Tom, made their way to the lockers to collect their gear before heading for the express lift. The rest of the Watch either wandered over to the couches, or to the video wall to chat with their counterparts in the other Torchwood institutes. With the New York connection being so popular, Jack had arranged for Cardiff and Mumbai to join the wall. Rose went through to the supervisors office to check her emails and mission logs before her husband, Doctor John Smith, arrived for his usual cup of tea on his way to his laboratory on the eighth floor. Oh, and to order some flowers for Angel.

It was 09:20 when Rose felt John arrive in the underground car park. He'd made good time, from dropping Juleshka and Jason off at school and getting across the city. She made her way from the office to the kitchen area to put two tea bags in their mugs.

'The Doc's made good time this mornin',' Jake said as he glanced at the clock on the wall.

'Yeah, the traffic was light this mornin',' Rose replied. Everyone knew their usual morning routine, and when Rose went to the kitchen, they knew John would be arriving soon after . . . And there he was, right on cue.

Rose removed the tea bag from the hot water, poured in the milk, and spooned in two sugars, before stirring it, turning around and handing John his morning brew with a quick snog. After unlocking lips, he took a careful sip of the hot tea.

'Ooh, lovely jubbly,' he said, and then frowned. 'Lovely jubbly . . ? don't think I've used that one before.' He then smiled. 'Lovely jubbly! I like it. I'll use that again.'

Rose laughed at his discovery of a new phrase. 'It suits ya. C'mon, let's have a sit down, I'm done in the office for now.'

They joined Julia, Jake, "Irish" Stu, and "Welsh" Pete on the sofas, who were watching the 24 hour news channel, or reading the mission logs from the previous shift to see if there was anything interesting. There was a packet of Hobnob biscuits on the coffee table in front of them, and John leaned forwards to take one out and dunk it in his tea. On the television, the news channel was replaying the new president's press briefing from the day before.

['As you all know, the safety of our citizens is paramount. We will be enhancing our counter-terrorism measures, investing in new technologies, and ensuring that our security agencies have the resources they need to protect our nation . . . Now, I'll open the floor to questions.']

'Oh look, it's Sarah Jane!' Rose exclaimed.

['Mr. President, Sarah Jane Dalton, London Gazette. What are your plans for addressing the preliminary findings of the public inquiry into the discovery of a secret cell operating within the offices of the Ministry of Defence?']

John smiled one of his proud smiles. 'Way to go Sarah, give 'em hell.'

'Wasn't that the White Watch incident with your family Rose?' Julia asked.

Rose nodded. 'Mmm, yeah, that was it.'

Julia was referring to the incident where her brother had been kidnapped by Yvonne Hartman, as a pawn in her plot to exact revenge on Torchwood, by attempting to murder the head of Special Operations, Andy McNab, and forcing her father, Pete Tyler to choose between saving the life of his son or his wife.

'Hang on, she isn't workin' for the London Gazette at the moment,' Rose realised.

['Excellent question, Ms. Dalton,'] the new president responded. ['Due to the serious nature of the inquiry, I will be calling for a thorough review of security screening of all MP's and staff in the Houses of Parliament . . .']

'Smart move,' John said as he sucked the tea out of his biscuit and let it crumble in his mouth.

A man in his late forties with grey, receding hair stepped forward slightly, his eyes scanning the crowd with a calculated intensity. His thin features, with aquiline nose and thick rimmed glasses, gave him an owl-like appearance. ['If I may add, Mister President, we will also be conducting a review of all privately owned organisations employing armed security staff. For full transparency and impartiality, the Torchwood Institute will also be included in this review.']

John nearly choked on his biscuit. 'What?!'

'But we were the ones who alerted them to the danger,' Jake said. 'Talk about being stabbed in the back.'

'Et tu Bruté,' John quoted.

'The government have to be seen to be thorough and impartial,' Jack said as he entered the Standby Room. 'I was coming to tell you about it, but I see you've already seen it. I've just had a call from the President's office to arrange a preliminary visit.'

'I know they have to be impartial,' Rose said, 'but it does seem like a slap in the face.'

Jack gave her one of his perfect smiles. 'Welcome to my world. The world of politics, where you smile as you gently ease the knife between the ribs. Now Harriet's retired, we've got to try and develop a new relationship with Charles.' He was referring to Charles Beech, the newly elected President of the People's Republic of Great Britain.